Motor to the junction of California highways 41 and 46 not far from the tiny town of Chalome and you'll be at the spot for which Porsche's 550 Spyder is best known throughout the world. This is not a place where the car had a race victory; it's where actor James Dean died in his 550 Spyder.

It's unfair. We should remember the 550 Spyder as Porsche's first pure racecar, godfather to the likes of the 917, 956, 962, GT1...right up to the 2013 hybrid 918 Spyder.

Dr. Ferdinand Porsche died in 1951 and it was up to Ferry Porsche to continue what his father had started after World War II. The 356 was in production and when the factory saw the success of Porsche-based Glöcker race specials, it was decided to create a purpose-built competition machine.

Dr. Ernst Fuhrmann headed engine design. Beginning with the basic flat-4 with its heritage running back to the Volkswagen Beetle's air-cooled powerplant, he penned a race engine that featured shaft-driven twin overhead camshafts in the cylinder heads, a roller-bearing crankshaft and dual ignition. Displacement was set at 1498 cc to keep the car in the 1.5-liter racing class. Fed through a pair of Solex carburetors, the engine produced 110 bhp at 6200 rpm.

This Mighty Mouse engine was placed amidships in a monocoque body maximized for compactness, aerodynamics and lightness, a 550 weighing around 1500 lb.

Porsche introduced the 550 at the 1953 Paris Salon, adding the Italian term Spyder to signify it was a 2-seat open light sports car.

Being a race car, the 550 Spyder had to prove its worth and that came dramatically in the 1954 Carrera Panamericana in Mexico. Porsche prepped a pair of 550s with a 117-bhp version of Fuhrmann's engine. Driven by Hans Hermann and Jaroslav Juhan, the Spyders were able to cruise on the long straight stretches of the 1907-mile 8-leg event at 124 mph. At the finish, the 1.5-liter Porsches were in 3rd and 4th behind a pair of Ferraris...the winner with a 4.9-liter V-12, the other with a 4.5.

Those of us who recently rode with 83-year-old Hans Hermann in one of the Carrera 550 Spyders will confirm he hasn't slowed down one bit.

Porsche built 90 550 Spyders, and the one in the Ralph Lauren collection—chassis No. 5500061—was the 61st assembled.